Executive Summary
- A woman was fatally struck by a train near Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, on Sunday afternoon.
- The incident occurred in a wooded area near East County Road 1550 just before 2:00 p.m.
- Oklahoma Highway Patrol stated the victim was walking south on the tracks when the collision occurred.
- Garvin County Sheriff’s Office and Pauls Valley Fire Department assisted in the response.
- Authorities are emphasizing the legal and safety hazards of walking on railroad tracks.
A woman was killed Sunday afternoon after being struck by a train in Garvin County, Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP). The incident prompted a multi-agency response and an ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatality.
State troopers reported that the collision occurred just before 2:00 p.m. near the rail crossing at East County Road 1550 in Pauls Valley. While the response shut down the crossing for several hours, Trooper Isidro Barrios stated that the impact itself took place deeper in a wooded section of the railway, rather than directly at the street crossing.
According to Trooper Barrios, the preliminary investigation indicates that the pedestrian was walking south along the railroad tracks when she was struck by the train. The victim’s identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin.
Emergency personnel from the Garvin County Sheriff’s Office and the Pauls Valley Fire Department assisted at the scene. Personnel from BNSF Railway were also observed on-site cooperating with authorities. KOCO News reported that they reached out to BNSF Railway for comment but had not received an immediate response.
Trooper Barrios emphasized the dangers of unauthorized presence on railways, noting, "Be aware of your surroundings, and the best thing to do is don’t be walking on the railroad track."
Public Safety and Investigative Protocol
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is currently leading the inquiry to determine the specific sequence of events leading to the collision. Investigations into pedestrian-train fatalities typically involve a review of the train’s data recorder, analysis of the braking distance, and toxicology reports. This incident underscores the critical safety risks associated with trespassing on active railway rights-of-way, which are private property and inherently hazardous for pedestrian traffic.
